Flaming June

Or so the picture would have you believe.  But actually, this is the only elderflower blossom in the garden right now and that patch of blue sky was just about big enough to fill the space.  The wind was pretty chilly and the temperature made today a long sleeve and cardigan day.  I’m hoping for a little warmth to bring out the elderflowers so that I can get going on this year’s cordial.  Right now, that’s going to be at least two weeks later than usual.

In a different corner of the world

The virtual world, at least.

Last evening I was searching for a couple of things online; things I’d read about and knew where to source in the US but which I’d not seen on this side of the Atlantic.  My search took me to a new and rather different place where the language used isn’t of needle sizes, thread counts and fibre content, but of bad boys, drippies and brews.

This was far from the world of Mrs P, where the palette of colours contains soft greens, pale pinks and powder blues, the textures are gentle and the most exuberant pattern (nice word, Linda!) is a gingham check or a fair isle sweater.

The colours here are the same (of course) but the names have a different tone: Hummer, Grasshopper, Dare Orange and Traffic Red, that last one I’m sure Mrs P would have referred to as “Pillar Box Red”.

I spent quite a while exploring this new and rather interesting world from the comfort of my studio, thinking that this was an altogether new subculture and I was probably not the target customer (I had to tick the box to confirm that I was over 16).  I’m unlikely to make use of any of this stuff in “hot and complex situations”, the “sized to fit pocket” isn’t an important factor in my choice and I’m not likely to be “on the run” any time soon (I hope).

But I did get a wonderful range of empty markers and paint squeezers from here and fear that I might well become a regular customer.

I promise to behave myself and deface nothing beyond the confines of my studio!

Just in time for Sunday

Fathers Day is always a slightly bitter-sweet occasion around here, since it always happens around the anniversary of a fateful phone call nine years ago.

So, sadly, I don’t send a Father’s Day card myself but remember happy days and count my blessings instead. 

This year, I was asked to think up a simple idea for a Father’s Day card and prompted by our travels earlier in the year, I thought I’d look out a simple pattern for an origami shirt, similar to this one given to me in Hiroshima by the young man in the tourist office.

Here’s my version, adapted from a pattern in one of my origami books.  It’s easy to fold and the thin origami paper not only makes it easier to get crisp folds, the white reverse side gives a neat contrast trim too!

You can download the instructions here.

Culture Vultures

After a few days at home, making tea for builders and other similar housekeeping duties, a long weekend of culture was just what was needed.

My usual front of house duties for the Stuart Singers summer concerts began on Friday and continued on Saturday evening, when we basked in sunshine, shivered in the draught and dodged the shower of rain – no wonder that we haven’t a clue what to wear these days.  Still, the concerts went down well with rave reviews and enthusiastic audiences on both nights, too.

We’d met friends in Cheltenham with a view to visiting the Open Studios but it was such a glorious day that pottering about and lingering over lunch was a more relaxing option!  The Science Festival was going great guns in Imperial Gardens as you can see and Gustav Holst appeared to be in control.  

I was amused by this sign, though stumped as to how better to word it.  “Ladies Crossing” might be more apt?

I left my camera in my bag on Sunday, thinking throughout Tra’s recital at Park House in Cheltenham, that I ought to take a photograph of her elegant shoes working the pedals on the grand piano; but of course, it was inappropriate to do so during her performance and when the recital was over, the moment was gone.  It was great to see her and lovely to have chance to catch up over supper at Brasserie Blanc afterwards.

As if a weekend of culture wasn’t enough to be going on with, I topped it off by meeting good friends Paulene, Nita and Sue at Tate Modern yesterday.

Visiting a gallery with friends is so rewarding, especially when artworks such as this Cy Twombly (one of three similar works on adjacent walls) provoke an immediate reaction in all four of us.  Yet in just five minutes standing and looking, noticing, thinking and sharing those thoughts, a transformation takes place and by the time we leave the room, we can have switched opinions altogether!

Sadly, Sue had to leave sooner than we’d have liked, but she’d come a long way and is probably just about on her way home as I write this. Great to see her though, and a great shame we can’t meet up more often.

Anyone making much progress on a teleporter yet?

Surprise!

Well, it was about time to get rid of the old, Blogger-lookalike design, don’t you think?

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to tweak and reformat pictures and navigation tools.  I hope it’s all working as it should and welcome feedback, of course.  There remain a couple of small features I need to work on; I’d like to include a “back to the top” button at the bottom of the page and update the RSS feed tools, too.  But I was ready to hit “enable style” and be done.

It’s a standard Squarespace 5 design, incidentally, with a few customisations because I couldn’t resist tweaking!